On Media

Behind the N.Y. Times' Putin op-ed

By DYLAN BYERS

09/12/2013 11:36 AM EDT

The editorial page editor of the New York Times is defending his decision to publish an op-ed by Russian president Vladimir Putin, even as congressman erupted in hysterics over its publication Thursday.

In an interview with the paper's public editor, Andrew Rosenthal called Putin's editorial "well-written, well-argued,” and added: “I don’t agree with many of the points in it, but that is irrelevant.”

Rosenthal also rejected the argument that the Times was aiding and abetting an America enemy by publishing the item. "There is no ideological litmus test” for an Op-Ed article, he told the public editor. "Everyone wants to hear from Putin right now” and this article was “fascinating and detailed,” he said.

In the piece, Putin denied that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against civilians, instead blaming the rebels, and criticized Obama’s recent address to the nation as "extremely dangerous."

“Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan ‘you’re either with us or against us,’” Putin wrote in the op-ed, referencing Iraq and Afghanistan and urging a “return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.”

The editorial was brought to the Times by the American public relations firm Ketchum, which has worked to place pro-Russia editorials in the pages of leading American news outlets. It is not the first time Putin's byline has appeared on an influential op-ed page. In 2012, he signed a column called "My Vision for a Better Russia" that appeared in The Washington Post.

As of 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, the White House had not responded to a request from POLITICO regarding whether it had reached out to the Times about responding to Putin's piece.